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GRANT: January 8th and when you watch this episode, deer season will be officially closed
in Missouri. But Adam and I aren't depressed because we'll start right in with our post-season
trail camera survey, making plans for food plots and we've got some great ideas where
to hang stands for next year. Come on along because we've got another hunt to go through
before the season closes.
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GRANT: There's a Proverb that says, "A wise man seeks the counsel of many." And I really
try to apply that to my life. I know many heads are better than one. On one portion
of our property, we have a large area called a 50 Acre Glade and we've showed you burns
there in the past and maintaining that in early succession for a bedroom. And it slopes
off to the south which is ideal for wintertime bedding and wintertime nutrition as deer eat
on the forbs growing out there.
GRANT: You're familiar with the eastern portion of 50 Acre Glade because that's where Matt
took that great nine pointer earlier this year and we've showed you streams of trail
camera pictures from that area. As Adam was working that end of the property and ventured
on up the mountain, he found where a saddle was in the ridge and noted it would be a natural
crossing and we ought to put a trail camera there.
GRANT: Based on Adam's scouting, we quickly hung a Reconyx camera there and put a Trophy
Rock out to get some more MRI, or some more most recent information. That's always a good
step to see if you want to put a stand in the area or not.
GRANT: A secondary step we took was to look at the MapView software by Reconyx and compare
where we'd taken pictures of our major bucks on that part of the property before. And when
we tied it all together between a couple camera stations, there was clearly a line of travel
going very close to that saddle.
GRANT: Now, when you put two camera locations together, deer rarely go in a straight line
in between and it's up to the individual to scout and find out where the exact location
is that they can approach and hunt that area based on that data.
GRANT: It's comfortable getting dressed out in the woods and putting your hunting clothes
on and walking to the stand when it's 65 degrees. You can easily carry your coat over your arm
and not get overheated, but deer don't have that option. They've got that big heavy fur
coat on; they've been storing fat -- preparing for the late season and recovering from the
rut -- and it's miserable walking to the stand when you've got your insulated coveralls on
or walking around as a deer with that big fur coat on and it's 65 degrees.
GRANT: (Whispering) January 5th and it's extremely warm. I've got my light fleece on, strong
wind out of southwest. Got a large 50 acre bedding area over here on the south of us
and several scrapes and a rub line coming right through this little saddle. Great pinch
point. First time we've hunted it this year. I'm excited to see what happens.
GRANT: Close to dark I heard something that sounded very big coming through the leaves.
GRANT: I consider myself an experience outdoorsman. But sometimes, even an experienced guy can
get faked out. A little later, sure enough that noise I was looking for came to my ears
again. And that second diller came out of that same sink hole. Primetime is still yet
to come as the sun's faded over the ridge and it's now clearing off a little bit, giving
those big bucks the incentive they might need to get up and stir around.
GRANT: And once again, noise attracts me to that side of my stand and I know it's got
to be a good buck this time.
GRANT: Little did we know we'd hung our Muddys right next to an armadillo convention and
that third armadillo come out of that sink hole.
GRANT: Unfortunately, I had meetings scheduled the next morning. That was the perfect opportunity
though for Adam and Thomas to try their hand at 50 Acre West when the temperatures would
be a little bit cooler.
ADAM: (Whispering) January the 6th. We're here right in the middle of Last Lick 10's
core area, so we're hoping he comes by this morning. But if a doe presents a shot, we'll
take one of those too.
ADAM: The morning started off with a beautiful sunrise. It was cool, crisp and about eight
o'clock we heard the leaves crunching.
ADAM: (Whispering) Looks like a two and a half year old eight pointer.
ADAM: It, it just so happened to be a couple young bucks but it was a great start to the
morning. The bucks faded off the hill; I sat down, just to hear Thomas say, "Deer." I turned
around and we have more deer coming from the other direction.
ADAM: They're about 150 to 175 yards away, but they looked to be headed our way.
ADAM: (Whispering) They're coming this way, aren't they?
THOMAS: (Whispering) Yeah.
ADAM: (Whispering) Oh, definitely. I'm gonna shoot the back one.
ADAM: In a matter of about ten minutes, they come from over 150 yards to three yards to
the base of our tree.
ADAM: (Whispering) You got her? You got her?
THOMAS: Yep.
ADAM: (Whispering) Hold on. That was like watching a turkey come in. You see them come
forever. Doe patrol. (Laughter) I can't, I can't get a buck to save my life, but the
does just keep piling by me.
ADAM: She runs off the hill; Thomas and I hear a crash; we're whispering back and forth
in the stand; recapping the hunt and I catch more movement. It's two more bucks and they
seem to be headed right to the stand. They're about 30 yards out and I notice one buck just
so happens to be Pumpkin Face.
ADAM: (Whispering) That's Pumpkin Face; that's Pumpkin Face.
ADAM: Pumpkin Face is a two and a half year old buck, but he's got a facial deformity
so it makes him very easy to recognize in the Reconyx images.
ADAM: Reviewing the Reconyx images over the last couple of weeks, Grant and I have noticed
that Pumpkin Face has been in a lot of the same locations as Last Lick 10. Instantly,
my heart starts racing with the thought of Last Lick 10 being in that area.
ADAM: (Whispering) Last Lick's around here, man...
ADAM: But as the morning started to warm up and the bucks started to move off, so did
the hope for Last Lick 10.
ADAM: Well, this is where I shot her. As you can see, there's the stands right there. There's
already blood right at the shot. Blood. Blood. Just, like, sprayed all over the ground, so
hopefully, she won't be much farther.
GRANT: As a whitetail hunter, one of the problems of large blocks of similar habitat is it doesn't
encourage deer to use a defined travel pattern. They can actually choose anywhere in that
similar habitat type with no advantage to them and a big disadvantage to hunters.
ADAM: Yeah. Here we go. Oh, is that a deer? There she is. Man.
ADAM: We were truly blessed this morning. Shot this big, mature doe and now we're gonna
drag her out of here and go process her and call it a day.
ADAM: All fall you've seen me help drag Matt's deer out and Grant's deer out. The biggest
question is: where are they at today when it's my turn?
GRANT: I fly out to the ATA show tomorrow morning to check out all the new bows and
gear that goes with archery hunting. Adam's got one more week to really finalize that
pattern around Last Lick 10 and hopefully put him in the book for the year. Either way,
we've both got a great week ahead.
GRANT: Whether season is already closed where you hunt or you've still got a little time
left, it's a great time to start planning for 2012 September and getting back out in
the deer woods. We'll be right here all summer long, managing habitat, killing predators
and chasing turkeys. Join us and thanks for watching GrowingDeer.tv.
ADAM: Wow. Just look at the broadheads. Look at that. There the blades. Look how one's
bending that way, the other one's bending that way